Crew Invitations

Crew Invitations allow you to invite people to work on specific projects before formally assigning them. This creates a confirmation workflow where the invitee can accept or decline, ensuring everyone agrees on dates, rates, and expectations before the booking is finalised.

Invite types

NexusRMS supports three types of crew invitations, each designed for a different scenario:

• User — Invite an existing system user who is already an internal crew member on your team. They receive the invitation within the NexusRMS platform.
• Node — Invite a connected Freelancer Node. The freelancer must already have an active connection with your company. They receive the invitation through their Node dashboard.
• Email — Invite an external person who is not yet in the system. The invitation is sent to their email address. If they accept, a user account is created automatically and they are added to your crew.

Invitation fields

When creating an invitation, you provide the following information:

• Project (optional) — The project the invitee will be working on. If left blank, the invitation is a general availability inquiry.
• Role / function name — The role or position the invitee will fulfil (e.g., Sound Engineer, Stage Hand, Lighting Technician)
• Start date and time — When the work begins
• End date and time — When the work ends
• Offered rate — The pay rate being offered for this booking
• Rate type — How the rate is calculated: hourly, daily, or fixed (a flat fee for the entire booking)
• Currency — The currency for the offered rate (defaults to GBP)
• Custom message — A free-text message included with the invitation, allowing you to provide additional context, special instructions, or a personal note

Invitation statuses

Each invitation moves through a defined workflow with the following statuses:

• Draft — The invitation has been created but not yet sent. You can edit all fields freely while the invitation is in draft status.
• Sent — The invitation has been delivered to the invitee. For User and Node types, it appears in their notification centre. For Email types, it is delivered to their email address.
• Viewed — The invitee has opened the invitation. This status is tracked automatically when the invitation link or notification is accessed.
• Accepted — The invitee has accepted the invitation. This triggers the automatic creation of a crew assignment for the associated project, with the agreed rate and dates.
• Declined — The invitee has declined the invitation. They may optionally include a response message explaining why they are unable to accept.
• Expired — The invitation passed its expiry date without the invitee responding. No further action can be taken on an expired invitation.
• Cancelled — The sender cancelled the invitation before the invitee responded. Cancelled invitations are retained for audit purposes but cannot be reopened.

Planning types

Each invitation can be marked with one of two planning types to indicate the level of certainty:

• Draft (tentative) — The booking is not yet confirmed. Use this when you are exploring availability or the project details are still being finalised. Draft invitations appear as tentative entries in the scheduling planner.
• Final (confirmed) — The booking is confirmed and the crew member is expected to attend. Final invitations appear as confirmed entries in the scheduling planner.

Invitation security

Every invitation generates a unique 64-character token that forms part of the secure response URL. This token ensures that only the intended recipient can view and respond to the invitation. Tokens are single-use for responses — once an invitation is accepted, declined, or cancelled, the token is invalidated and the URL can no longer be used to change the response.

Tracking and reminders

NexusRMS tracks key timestamps throughout the invitation lifecycle:

• sent_at — When the invitation was dispatched to the invitee
• viewed_at — When the invitee first opened the invitation
• responded_at — When the invitee accepted or declined

You can send reminders to invitees who have not yet responded. The system tracks the reminder count for each invitation, so you can see how many follow-ups have been sent. Reminders are sent through the same channel as the original invitation (in-app notification for User and Node types, email for Email types).

Managing invitations

To view and manage all invitations, navigate to Crew List and select the Invitations tab. The list displays each invitation with the invitee name, project, dates, rate, and current status. Use the status filter to focus on specific groups — for example, filtering by Sent to find invitations awaiting response, or by Declined to identify roles that still need to be filled.

From the invitations list, you can:

• View the full invitation details by clicking on any row
• Send reminders for unanswered invitations
• Cancel invitations that are no longer needed
• Create new invitations using the Invite Crew button

Tips

• Set reasonable expiry dates — Give invitees enough time to respond (48–72 hours is typical), but not so long that you cannot fill the role if they decline.
• Use draft planning for tentative bookings — If a project is not yet confirmed with the client, send invitations with the Draft planning type. This lets you gauge crew availability without making firm commitments.
• Include a custom message — A brief personal note explaining the project and why you chose the invitee increases acceptance rates significantly.
• Monitor viewed-but-not-responded invitations — If an invitee has viewed the invitation but not responded within 24 hours, a polite reminder is appropriate.
• Use Email invitations sparingly — Prefer User or Node invitations where possible, as they are tracked more reliably and response times are typically faster.

Next steps

Continue to the Performance Reviews article to learn how to rate and review crew members after projects, or explore the Troubleshooting Crew article if you encounter any issues with invitations or scheduling.